Midnight Melody
by The Lost Kokiri
Summary: What happens when Malon's dad is forced to leave the ranch? What does Ganondorf have to do with all of this? What does Link have to do with all of this? Will Malon ever be the same? Under a new title please R&R...
1. The Boy in Green

Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda or Nintendo, so please do not sue me.  
  
A/N: Broken Chiyo shattered to the point of no return, leaving me with this story, the only link to her existence. Oh, and by the way, anything between *'s are Malon's thoughts. Enjoy ^_^  
  
Malon's Secret Song  
  
The Sun had just begun to shine over the horizon, filling the land of Hyrule with a golden light. The air was crisp and the grass was shimmering with beads of morning dew. The Sun shone through the small window of the pleasant little ranch house that was home to the family of Lon Lon Ranch. This served as little Malon's wakeup call. She carefully crept out of bed trying not to wake her father lying next to her. But she knew as well as anyone that it would take more than a little movement to wake Talon. *Daddy, you wouldn't wake up if the house fell down and the horses stampeded by* Malon thought to herself with a giggle as she walked over to her closet and changed into her usual clothing.  
  
She left the house and headed for the stable to feed the horses, just as she did every morning since the day she was able to walk. She made her way over to one of the horses. "Hey, girl. Are ya' hungry?" The steed answered with a "neigh". "I'll take that as a 'yes'", responded Malon with a giggle.  
  
The conversation was interrupted by the friendly greeting of Mr. Ingo, the ranch-hand. "Good morning." Mr. Ingo said this with his usual smile: eyes closed, cheeks red, and mustache pointed upward.  
  
"Morning, Mr. Ingo!" was Malon's enthusiastic reply. Now, Mr. Ingo was a pleasant man. He seemed to enjoy working at the Ranch, and was the type of man who wouldn't hurt a fly. He lived in the stable. This was part of the agreement he had made with Talon. His job was to clean the stable, and in exchange, he was given a place to sleep and a paycheck of 50 Rupees a week. Malon was very fond of him, and the feeling was mutual. After the brief greetings, Mr. Ingo followed through with his job of cleaning the stable.  
  
After feeding and grooming the horses, Malon let them roam free throughout the Ranch.  
  
She stayed with the horses for the entire day, singing her favorite song, the song her mother taught her. Before she knew it, the day was over, and it was time for bed.   
  
She led the horses back to the stable, and went off to bed. When she entered the bedroom, her father was waiting for her with an anxious look on his face. "Malon, guess what, Honey!"  
  
"What, Daddy?"  
  
"Tomorrow, I'm gonna go deliver milk to Hyrule Castle!"  
  
Malon pouted at this. "Does that mean you're going to leave me alone again?"  
  
At this, Talon's smile only thickened. "No, that means I'm taking you with me!"  
  
Malon's pout was quickly replaced by a smile. "Really? Do you mean it?"  
  
"Yup! I think it's about time you see what Hyrule Market Town's all about!"  
  
"YAY! I can't wait!" She jumped into Talon's arms and gave him the biggest hug her tiny body was capable of giving.  
  
"Now get to sleep, Malon. We gotta be up early tomorrow."  
  
"OK, Daddy." And with that, the two went to sleep.  
  
  
The next morning, Malon and her dad arrived at Hyrule Market Town. The minute Malon walked in her mouth dropped and her eyes widened. * My goodness am I really here? * "Oh Daddy, this place is magical!" Indeed, it was magical. All the people, colors, smells, and shops were overwhelming. Malon didn't know what to do first.  
  
"Malon, honey, this milk ain't gonna deliver itself. I gotta get to the castle. Ya comin'?"  
  
"Ohh no, Daddy! I think I'll stay here and look around. There's just so many people and so much to do!"   
  
"All right, Sugar. I'll be back soon." And so the two went their separate ways. Malon visited every shop, and spoke with every person, and before she knew it, dusk was rolling in. * Gee, it's getting late, I wonder where Daddy is. * But Malon's thoughts were interrupted by a little boy dressed in green running toward her. "Hey, your clothes! They're different . . . You're not from around here, are you?"  
  
"Uhh, no."   
  
"Ohh . . . You're a fairy boy from the forest! My name is Malon! My dad owns Lon Lon Ranch!"  
  
"Well, where is he?"  
  
"Dad went to the castle to deliver some milk, and he hasn't come back yet . . ." Malon drifted into deep thought about her dad, and when she returned to reality, the boy was gone. The sun was almost gone, so she decided to head toward the castle to find her dad, but when she got there, the castle was heavily guarded. There was no way she could get through to find him. She decided to wait just outside the castle gates until her father returned. She kept herself occupied by singing her mother's song, but once again she was interrupted by the little boy in green. He seemed to be headed toward the castle.  
  
"Are you going to the castle, fairy boy? Would you mind finding my dad?"  
  
"Uhhhh . . ." He was going to say more, but he was interrupted by Malon.  
  
"He must have fallen asleep somewhere around the castle. What a thing for an adult to do! Tee hee!"  
  
". . . . ."  
  
"Oh yeah, if you'll look for him, I'll give this to you. I've been incubating this egg very carefully . . . Tee hee!" She handed him the egg, and he went off toward the gate. *Hee hee, he's not gonna get anywhere going that way, the gaurds will stop him. * And soon enough the fairy boy returned, but he was quite the clever one . . . he noticed the vine on the cliff next to Malon and climbed it. Once he got to the top, he was out of sight. * Wow! That was smart. Why didn't I think of that? *  
  
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, a stranger on an armored black stallion approached Ingo. "Hmmm hmmm hmmm . . . . Good evening, Great sir. I'm weary from my travels, and I'd like some of YOUR famous milk."  
  
"Ohh ho, but it isn't MY milk. This ranch doesn't belong to me, I only work here as a ranch-hand."  
  
"A ranch-hand?! But you seem more like a person who would OWN a ranch, not just work at one. It's a pity such GREATNESS is wasted."  
  
"Why, what do you mean 'greatness'?"  
  
"Why, surely you realize your appearance is one of an important man! When I first saw you I asked myself why such a man would even consider working at a dump like this! But I figured that this might just be one of your many ranches across the land. And now you tell me that you're simply a ranch-hand! I'm utterly shocked!"  
  
"Wow. Well, I never thought of it that way . . ."  
  
"Well you should! I know greatness when I see it, and, my good man, it's written all over you. Hmmm hmmm hmmm. But I really must be going, so I'd like that milk now, if you please."  
  
"Ohh, ohh, of course! Right away!" Ingo went off to get the milk the strange man asked for and returned with numerous bottles of the freshest milk. "Here you are, I assure you, it's the best we have."  
  
"Why, thank you. I'll be on my way now . . . Ohh, by the way, my name is Ganondorf, and expect to see me again . . ." 


	2. The Newest Steed

Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda or Nintendo, so don't sue me. Thank you.  
  
A/N: B.C. asked me to leave the old title of her story on Chapter 1 so those who read her old story would recognize it, but now, due to certain circumstances, the title must be changed, and since I've been given control of the rest of the story, I am giving it the title Twilight Melody. If any of you readers are utterly confused by all this, let me explain. B.C. was unfortunately involved in a situation in which she was forced to stop writing fanfics. She thus shattered into dust, leaving me to put the pieces back together and continue with the legacy that was her fanfiction. Of course, she can never be put back together, but her fanfiction will live on. Ohh yes, anything in between *'s is now not only Malon's thoughts, but the thoughts of the last person mentioned.  
  
Twilight Melody   
  
That afternoon of "the castle incident" Malon and Talon arrived at the ranch arguing amongst each other. "Daddy, I can't believe you fell asleep and left me there!"  
  
"Well, I'm sorry, Malon. You know I can't control it, Sugar! I just can't fight this urge to sleep all the time. Awww, please forgive me, Malon. You know I didn't mean to leave you there."  
  
"Uhhh! All right, Daddy! I'll forgive you, but this is the last time!"  
  
It was only now that the two noticed Mr. Ingo. He was leaving the stable, but he stopped when he saw Malon and Talon coming up the hill. He seemed different, somewhat distracted. He seemed to be in deep thought. * Look at them, senselessly bickering over senseless matters! It's, it's totally SENSELESS! I'll bet that man fell asleep again. That lazy bum! I should own this ranch, NOT HIM! Ganondorf was right! I'm the great one! This ranch should be MINE! *  
  
But Ingo was rudely interrupted from his thoughts by Talon. "Uhh, Ingo, uhh, can you go over there and clean up the mess the cuccos made?"  
  
Ingo's face immediately twisted into anger, but no one seemed to notice because once again Ingo was interrupted, but this time by Malon's VERY high pitched squeal. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! Come to the stable quick! It's here, it's here! You too Mr. Ingo!"  
  
"I'm on my way, Pumpkin," screamed a flustered Talon.  
  
Ingo followed, mumbling under his breath.  
  
They arrived, but they weren't the only ones. One of the horses had just given birth to a beautiful little copper colored pony. It was different from the other horses, though. It had a stunning white mane and white hair on its hooves to match. The three spectators were in awe, but for very different reasons.  
  
Malon was delighted at the thought of having her very own pony. She was already dreaming about the possibilities.  
  
Talon was also delighted, but his mind was focused on what a wonderful show horse the newborn would make.  
  
Ingo, on the other hand, had his own very different set of plans. This horse was a total revelation to him. His face lit up with a new light. * This horse is an omen, I know it. It's trying to tell me something, and I know exactly what it is. The birth of this horse symbolizes my birth into the world of GREATNESS! I will prevail over these, these wastes of oxygen! One day, I will own this ranch, and when I do, this beautiful horse will be my gift to Ganondorf. It will be my way of thanking him for the new outlook on life he has given me! I owe his so much.... * But once again, Ingo was interrupted.  
  
"Epona!"   
  
Talon was shocked out of his mild nap by this sudden outburst. "Huh?! Huh? What's that Malon? Epona?"  
  
"That's her name! Epona. Isn't it pretty?"  
  
"Uhh huh ....... ZZZZZZZZZZZ"  
  
"Daddy! This is no time to SLEEP!"  
  
"Uhh, uhh ...... NO! I wasn't sleepin'! I, I, I was just testin' you. Yeah! That's right! I was testin' you! To see if you can tell if I was sleeping or not! Haaaaaa haaaaaaaa!"  
  
Mr. Ingo finally decide to speak up. "Yeah sure ...... 'mumble mumble' you're both wierdos 'mumble mumble'"  
  
Malon seemed to hear something come from Ingo. "What's that, Mr. Ingo?"  
  
"Nuthin'. Uhh, I'm gonna go clean up that cucco mess." And with that, he left.  
  
"Daddy, Have you noticed? Mr. Ingo's been acting pretty strange since we got home. I think there's something wrong." There was a slight pause until Malon noticed she wasn't really talking to anybody because, once again, Talon had fallen asleep. "DADDY!" 


End file.
